


hard to be soft (tough to be tender)

by glazedsun



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Anxiety, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 03:58:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16421990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glazedsun/pseuds/glazedsun
Summary: the one in which mat has superpowers but is a bit dense, and tito is a walking human disaster.





	hard to be soft (tough to be tender)

**Author's Note:**

> this is a work of fiction!! look away if you're mentioned. please don't share this with anyone mentioned.
> 
> this was definitely a labor of love that i've had on and off the shelf for several months now, and finally had the incentive to finish. i couldn't have done it without the tedious task of watching many, many marvel movies/tv shows and reading comics. okay, really, i couldn't have done this without the help of deja, who helped me when i was about to give up because i was so stuck on it. 
> 
> title is from "help, i'm alive" by metric, which is on the [incredible playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4NxMpUiQkao1CFtaIe8nhO) that was made for me by [aimerai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimerai/pseuds/aimerai). thank you, thank you!!

Mat’s saved Tito for like, the fourth time.

In one month.

He doesn’t think he has ever met anyone as accident prone as him; they’ve started having conversations now as Mat gets him out of whatever situation Tito has found himself in this time. It’s usually something ridiculous.

Today, they’re sitting together on the rooftop at Tito’s building, and Mat- still in disguise, of course- is making some bubbles for Tito, who has the brightest expression on his face.

“You’re like a child,” Mat laughs, watching as Tito tries to pop one of the bubbles, his face scrunching up when he can’t. He keeps poking and poking at it, until Mat takes pity on him and tries to make some weaker bubbles.

When Tito finally manages to pop one of the bubbles, he lights up and makes a triumphant sound. With each subsequent bubble popped, he makes a different noise that has Mat rolling his eyes.

The sounds are a bit weird, sure, but Mat can’t help but be, like… weirdly endeared by this kid and what he’s doing. It’s so stupid, but so damn cute at the same time. Mat shakes his head, swallowing that feeling down. He can’t let himself go down that route again. It never ends well. It never has, and it never will.

When Tito makes an especially weird sound, Mat decides that he’s had enough. “I’ve gotta get going.”

“More hapless souls to save?” Tito grins at him.

“Do you even know what that word means?”

Tito shrugs. “I’ve got an idea?”

“Oh my God,” Mat laughs, rolling his eyes and snorting before standing up. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

“I guarantee it,” Tito winks at him.

“You know,” Mat says, “Keep this up and I may start to think you’re doing this on purpose.” He blows one last bubble to Tito, who winks at Mat and carefully takes the bubble in his hand, bouncing it back and forth like a ball. Mat smiles at Tito fondly, glad that his mask is hiding his face, and jumps down off the roof, bouncing off the large bubble that appeared on the ground and then walking off, ready for the next thing that was going to come his way- and hoping that it would just be dinner. He could really go for a big cheeseburger right about now.

Mat manages to make it home with no other incidents, which means that he is so ready for his cheeseburger. Right as he’s finally changed out of his suit and into some sweats, though, his phone goes off. Not his personal phone, either- the “business” one. Mat groans, rolling over and trying to find where he’d thrown it. It turns up buried under two old hoodies and a newspaper article. He sighs when he looks at the phone, making a face. Just what he wants to deal with… a meeting.

Team meetings were both the best and worst thing about the whole ‘superhero’ thing. He gets to see some pretty amazing people, but he also must deal with the “veterans” of the team droning on and critiquing everyone’s work. Which. Sure, he’s always working to get better, but to hear his powers put down because they’re not as _cool_ and _helpful_ as some of the others’ is frustrating. As he goes to leave, though, he frowns, looking at the calendar. It wasn’t their usual meeting day. Huh.

When he gets another call immediately, Mat knows that something weird is going on. He jumps out of bed, throwing his suit in a bag just in case. He doesn’t feel that kind of sense of urgency that usually hits before danger, or he would have already been there. He’s confused what could possibly be going on, then, and hurries to the dock, cursing all the traffic that he is stuck in.

When he gets to the abandoned dock that they’d taken over as their headquarters, he notices that he’s one of the last people there. It’s pretty typical; he’s usually the first one to a scene, but the last to a meeting. Unless it’s a training day, that is; training days are his favorite and he’s always one of the first there then. Meetings, though, those are boring. Mat grabs his bag, striding in to the building and looking around at the people who have gathered.

“Ebs!” He grins, bouncing over to claim the seat next to Jordan.

“Oh good, you’re here,” Jordan sighs. Mat can tell that he’s trying to act annoyed, but Jordan can’t hide the fond look on his face. “Big day today?”

“Saved Tito again,” Mat shrugs. “The usual.”

Jordan snorts, shaking his head. “How the fuck do you manage to have a ‘regular’? I don’t think I’ve ever saved the same person twice. Yet you save this same guy over and over again. Are you sure he’s not like… doing it on purpose?”

“There’s no way he’s faking this shit,” Mat rolls his eyes. “It’s so ridiculous. He’s a mess.”

“I think he’s a mess who likes you,” Jordan teases.

“He doesn’t even know who I am.”

“Technically, he does,” Jordan elbows him, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you guys went to school together or something?”

“Sort of. Kind of.”

Jordan raises an eyebrow, a confused look on his face. “What does that even mean?”

“It’s like… I ran away from home, yeah? I wound up where he was. He was in school, and I just kind of… hung around. I played it off like I was in school, but never really went. Mostly because I didn’t want to get caught and shipped off somewhere, you know?”

“Okay, wow,” Jordan says, blinking a few times as if he hadn’t expected that kind of an answer from Mat. “There is a lot to unpack there. You’re going to need to break all of that further down for me, starting with why did you run away?”

Mat shrugs, twirling his finger and watching small iridescent bubbles float in the air around it. Jordan frowns at that, looking like he wants to press further. Luckily, Mat is saved from having to explain when Josh gets up in front of everyone, looking ready to call the meeting to a start.

Mat looks around the room, trying to read everyone’s faces and wondering if they have any more knowledge than he does or if this is as much of a surprise to them as it is to him. Some of the other guys he has gotten to know well, but some of them he’s merely trained with and never really gotten to know.  If Josh’s serious face is anything to go buy, though, then he’ll be getting to know these guys really quick.

“Alright, so. I know these meetings are usually either a formality or just a chance to meet up and go over video. But shit’s been getting really strange around here, stranger than our usual,” Josh begins. “A few days ago, Casey and Matt came to me telling me they’d noticed a pattern emerging in some crime activity around some abandoned warehouses.

“It started, what, like a month or so ago?” He turns to the duo, who nod in agreement. “With little blips of increased movement and whatnot, but it didn’t catch our eye as anything until a couple of weeks ago. That’s when stuff started to seem like it went beyond just regular old crime, and potentially to something run by powered individuals. They’ve been tracking it and found some patterns that suggest that what is being planned is big. Huge. Potentially catastrophic.

“The type of behavior that has been shown has been seen once before, in Chicago.”

Behind Mat, there is a sharp intake of breath.  He doesn’t even have to look behind him to know exactly who that was- Leds. Mat squirms in his seat, getting more nervous about the severity and reality of all of this.

Josh shoots Nick a sympathetic look before turning on the screen behind him. A few moments later, a video begins playing. In the video, there are news clips showing destruction to the city of Chicago, as well as a few clips of superheroes- some that Mat recognizes (led by one of his personal idols, Tazer), some that he doesn’t- fighting off people who look human but are clearly powered. It’s intense, and frankly, a bit terrifying.

“We’re lucky enough that our guys not only noticed something was going on, but also recognized the pattern enough to know who to trace it to. This gives us some time to prepare. We don’t know when an attack will happen, but we know it’s coming sooner rather than later. And we have an idea of what to expect, though I’m sure they’ll have upgraded as well.

“The team in Chicago were able to push the villains out of the city and send them back home, but because they got away, they’ve apparently now come back to try again. We need to train, to learn what worked and didn’t work against them, and find a way to end it once and for all.” He pauses, looking around the group assembled in front of him. “It’s not going to be easy. We’re going to need to come together more than ever, and to rely on each other more than ever. But I have faith in us. That’s all for now; I’m going to analyze some of the videos and then in our next scheduled meeting we’ll start breaking down some of the things that we can do.”

After everyone gets up, Mat hovers around Jordan, listening to all the chatter going on around him as their small group tries to sort out what to do. Mat is used to small things. He has saved people from danger, he’s even taken down human criminals, but he’d never faced anything like this… supervillain that was planning to invade their city.

Why was he even here?

Having probably sensed Mat’s worries, Anders walks over, resting a hand on Mat’s shoulder. Mat sighs, leaning into Anders and feeling the comfort washing over him.

“You okay, kid?” Jordan asks, ruffling Mat’s hair.

Mat swats Jordan’s hand away, glaring up at him but smiling a little. “This is… a lot.”

“First time?” Anders asks. Mat nods. “I remember my first time… it was terrifying.”

“It’s never easy,” Jordan adds, but strokes the back of Mat’s neck. “But we’ll all be working together, and have each other’s backs, yeah?” Mat nods, looking around the room, relaxing a little. “Did you eat yet?”

“I’m fucking starving. Was just about to go eat when I got the call.”

“Well, what do you say to dinner on me?” Jordan smiles.

“I would be even more down for food in that case. Hope you’re ready for a good burger.”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Jordan asks, rolling his eyes.

“Nope,” Mat grins at Jordan, giving Anders a kiss on the cheek before grabbing his bag, turning around to make sure Jordan was following him.

“Jesus, okay,” Jordan laughs, saying his goodbyes to everyone before they walked out together to their cars. “You’re hopeless with directions, right?” Mat thinks about protesting, but he had gotten lost on the way to the bank just that morning, so he just kind of shrugs. “I thought so, why don’t you just ride with me, then we’ll come back here?”

“Sounds good,” Mat beams up at Jordan.

-

Since the moon is full, Mat’s decided to sit up on the roof, staring up at it. It’s too bright in the city to really see the stars like he used to be able to. He misses those nights a lot, when he could just stare up and wonder at the stars for hours. He makes do with what he can, here in the city.

He’s been in the city for a few years now, but still sometimes has a hard time with all the noise. Some nights he loves it; some nights, it’s just too much. He’s been feeling tingles and prickling under his skin all night, leaving him on edge, wondering if it was anything that he was needed for. The tingling wasn’t accompanied by any sense of _where_ , though, so Mat had no idea what to make of it. Because his senses were already so on edge, the noise was starting to be too much. Going back into his apartment wouldn’t solve anything, either. Sure, maybe he could turn down some of the noises, or drown it out with noises of his own, but it would present a different problem.

That problem was the one that brought him outside in the first place. He’d started feeling like a caged animal and needed to get out.

Staring at the moon helps him, some. He can focus all his thoughts on the big, beautiful, bright moon, and eventually the noise of the city will turn into white noise once again. Hopefully.

Mat turns around when he feels a disturbance in the air behind him, smiling when he sees Jordan walking over.

“I think this is the first time you haven’t jumped when you’ve seen me do that,” Jordan says as he sits on the ground next to Mat.

“Guess you’re getting predictable, old man,” Mat tries to tease, but it doesn’t land the same way it usually does.

“Figured you could use some company,” Jordan explains even though Mat didn’t ask, ignoring the insult.

Briefly, Mat considers protesting. He also briefly considers asking how Jordan knew, but he knows the answer to both. The team has been keeping close tabs on him since that big meeting, so Anders probably sent Jordan in to check up on him.

“Training was rough today,” Mat says after a few minutes of silence.

Jordan nods, scooting closer to Mat so he could wrap an arm around his shoulder. “Seems like the mental stuff is harder for you than the physical stuff.”

Mat shrugs a little, sighing to himself. “It’s like. The physical I can train for. I can practice, I can spend hours in the gym.”

“Hours?” Jordan interrupts him, staring at him with an incredulous expression upon his face.

Mat shrugs again, this time a little sheepish. “I like it. I know I always need to improve, and I know the expectations. I can control that by working out.”

“And you don’t think you can do that with the mental stuff?”

“Nope,” Mat shakes his head. “I don’t know. I don’t like… feeling exposed like that. My head can be all kinds of fucked up, but I don’t want people knowing that. It’s like,” he pauses, trying to gain control of his thoughts and get himself back on track. “I have a pretty useless superpower, right?” He holds his hand up when Jordan tries to interrupt, pushing through. “So, if I train, and build up my strength and my combat skills, then I can at least have something else to fall back on. Something I can contribute to the team. I can be strong like the rest of you. But if you all know about all the shit going on in my head, then it’s a weakness again, it could be a problem. I don’t want that to be why you kick me off the team.”

“Here’s the thing, Bubbles. If that was a way to get you kicked off the team, there wouldn’t _be_ a team.”

“Really?”

Jordan nods. “We’re superheroes, kid. Some of us have failed at saving people. Some of us have killed people. Some of us have been through all kinds of other shit. And some of us are more adjusted than others. But we’ve got each other’s backs. This coming battle, it’s not going to be easy. We need to do everything we can to prepare for it, because we’re lucky we get any preparation at all. We weren’t so lucky in Edmonton.”

Mat frowns, leaning into Jordan more. He knows the story. Hell, _everyone_ knows the story.

_They were supposed to be the next big superhero team, perhaps even at a level rival to the fictional Avengers. The media referred to them as HOPE, a letter for each young hero. They’d faced some difficult stuff, mostly criminal rings, and always come out on top. To some, including Mat, they were Canada’s best thing. (He’s pretty sure that his Jordan poster is still on the wall of his home in B.C., if his parents haven’t just thrown everything of his away)_

_Then one day, all hell broke loose. A local drug ring had gotten their hands on an alien technology no one else on Earth had ever seen, and they used that to go after local police. When HOPE swept in, none of them realized what they were up against._

_They pulled off the win, in the end, but only with the help of other superheroes in the area._

_The win came at such a cost, to themselves and especially to the civilians, that they all suffered for it. They tried to stay together, but it didn’t take long for them to drift apart._

_Magnus was never the same after. He’d had only minor injuries, but the trauma of the day left him hesitant to use his powers to their full ability. He floated around a few different cities, popping up to try to help but never really finding a role quite like what he’d had in Edmonton._

_Linus just… disappeared. He’d be in the news on occasion with one of his trademark flashy rescues, but then he’d fade away again. Last Mat knew, Linus was somewhere in Europe._

_Taylor and Jordan both hung in around Edmonton as long as they could manage, with Jordan lasting longer than Taylor. In the end, neither of them seemed to be what the city needed as fresh new faces came in. Both Jordan and Taylor found new cities to help and were in the process of working out their roles there._

“Thanks,” Mat says softly.

“No problem. You’re a good kid, yeah? Try not to get too into your head. I think you’re more important than you know.”

Mat sighs, flushing a little bit at Jordan’s words, trying to get himself to believe them.

“You are,” Jordan says again, softer this time. There’s a gentle press of lips to Mat’s temple, and then Jordan is off as quickly as he came, the air feeling empty in his absence.

“I am important,” Mat says softly to himself, looking up at the moon one more time before getting up to head into his apartment.

-

“You know, this is getting a bit ridiculous,” Mat says as he flicks his fingers, sending some bubbles down around Tito’s hand, trying to make the bars a little more slippery. “What the hell were you even doing?”

Tito rubs his wrist once they get it free from the grate that it had been stuck in, pouting a little bit. “I dropped my phone and was trying to get it.”

“Christ,” Mat mutters, trying not to be amused by this mess of a human being in front of him. He grabs his own phone to be able to shine the light down and see if he could spot the phone down there. “You seriously thought you could reach that?”

“Um,” Tito shrugs.

Mat doesn’t even bother dignifying that with a response. Instead, he flicks his fingers again, sending a bubble down between the bars and watching the bubble seek out the phone. His forehead creases in concentration as he tries to direct the bubble to pick up the phone, carrying it up and squeezing back through the bars.

“Holy shit,” Tito says, his eyes wide as he reached out to take the bubble, poking his finger through it to pop it and grab his phone. “That’s new.”

Mat flushes a bit, shrugging and shifting from one foot to the other. “Been working on different improvements for them.”

“You’ve never been able to control them like that though, have you? The strength isn’t as new, but the… telepathy or whatever you just did, that was sick.”

Mat shakes his head, a little surprised that Tito has picked up on that detail. “I’ve been able to kind of… aim and direct for a long time now, but actually guiding them is new. I wasn’t sure if it would actually work like that, especially… carrying something.”

“That was brilliant. You’re brilliant, wow,” Tito says, so much awe in his voice and on his face that it takes Mat aback.

“It’s silly,” Mat says softly, a bit sheepish, still occasionally embarrassed by his weird ‘powers’.

“No, it’s brilliant,” Tito insists, shoving his phone in his pocket once he’s made sure it still works. “Can I buy you some coffee or something? As a thank you,” he quickly adds the last part.

And, wow, Mat wishes. There is nothing that he would love more right in this moment than to sit down with Tito and relax and talk. “I’ve gotta get back on patrol,” he says, disappointment obvious in his voice.

“Maybe after?” Tito asks, hopeful.

At that, Mat softens and smiles a bit. “Yeah, if I’m not too beat.”

“Of course, big crime fighter hero,” Tito teases. “Any idea how late you’ll be?”

Mat shakes his head. “Crime doesn’t keep normal hours, unfortunately.”

“Well, make it tonight. What are your feelings about wearing this get up in public?”

“I’m doing it right now,” Mat points out.

“No shit,” Tito rolls his eyes, elbowing Mat. “I mean to sit down and eat, idiot.”

Mat laughs and shakes his head. “Would be a bit weird, yeah?”

“That’s what I figured,” Tito laughs. “What about meeting me on the roof of my building around 11? I’ll bring some coffee and dinner.”

Mat lights up at that. “You’re the best. See you then.” He waves to Tito, running off before he can hear Tito whispering _it’s a date_.

-

It’s actually closer to midnight by the time he gets to Tito’s, but the important part is that Mat made it. Well, maybe the important part… it all depends whether Tito will still be waiting or if he gave up on Mat.

Mat sits down on the ledge of the building, looking out at the view around him and taking it all in, losing himself a bit as he works on coming down from that post-patrol mix of anxiety and adrenaline rush he sometimes gets.

He startles when he hears a door slam behind him, looking up to see Tito walking toward him, his eyes wide.

“Woah, shit, didn’t mean to scare you and have you fall off the building.”

Mat laughs and jumps down from the ledge, walking to meet Tito. “That’s where the bubbles come in handy, don’t worry.”

“Fallen off buildings before, have you?” Tito asks, motioning for Mat to sit down.

“It’s been known to happen,” Mat says, laughing when Tito looks shocked at the nonchalance with which Mat speaks.

They sit down on the ground, and Mat watches as Tito pulls a few containers out of the tote bag he’d carried out with him, then hands Mat a bottle of water.

“I didn’t know what you might like,” Tito says, his face a little flushed as he starts opening them. “So I made a few things. There’s some salad-“

“No veggies,” Mat says immediately, making a face behind his mask and making Tito laugh.

“Okay, no veggies for the big bad superhero, guess I’ll have to eat those. I’ve also got salmon or grilled chicken, if you want either of those.”

Mat blinks at Tito, surprised. This wasn’t at all what he’d expected; he figured it would either be some snacks or fast food. “You… made _salmon_ for me?”

Tito lets out an abrupt, shy, giggle, shrugging and fiddling with his own water bottle. “It had to be used before it went bad, and I… thought it might be nice.”

“That’s amazing, wow, thanks,” Mat says softly, reaching for the container with the salmon in it.

“You’re welcome,” Tito beams, visibly pleased as he watches Mat’s reaction to the salmon, laughing at the happy sounds that Mat makes after the first bite.

They sit together in comfortable silence while they eat, Tito opting to cut up the chicken and put it on his salad. When Mat finishes, he sits back, stretching his legs in front of him.

“Do you go out on patrols often?” Tito asks Mat after he’s finished eating as well.

Mat shrugs. “Almost nightly, unless someone else is covering it. Some nights are pretty uneventful, some nights I’ve been out almost until the sun comes up because there’s just so much going on.”

“Do you have like, a day job or anything?”

Mat laughs, and if Tito could see his face, he absolutely would have raised his eyebrow at him. “Trying to get to the bottom of my identity, huh?”

“No!” Tito laughs, shaking his head. “Just making conversation and curious if you balance the two.”

Mat shrugs. “Some of the guys do, but I don’t. I mostly just train if I’m not out actively patrolling.”

“Sounds a bit boring. Guess it’s a good thing I came into your life,” Tito decides, a playful little smirk on his face.

Mat balls up his napkin and tosses it in Tito’s face, shaking his head as he laughs. “Yeah, you’re right, I don’t know what my life would be without you,” he replies, his voice dripping with sarcasm… laced with quite a bit of truth, not that Mat would ever admit it. Not to Tito’s face, anyway.

“It would be awful,” Tito says solemnly, then reaches into the bag. “Especially since I have brownies.”

“Brownies!” Mat cheers when Tito hands him one, grinning at the way that Tito laughs at him.

“You’re ridiculous,” Tito says, his voice sounding awfully fond.

“You are,” Mat counters, like a proper adult. They both giggle again, then settle back into conversation once their laughter dies down.

Another hour passes much the same before Tito suddenly says, “Shit, I have work in the morning. I should probably, like,” he gestures toward the door.

“Yeah, probably,” Mat says. “Thanks for dinner, this was really nice. Usually I’m too tired to really make much dinner after a patrol.”

“Well,” Tito says after they clean everything up, “if you’re hungry after a patrol, stop by and I can feed you if I’m around. Just knock on my window. Or maybe I’ll leave treats out for you like you’re Santa Claus.”

“You’re an idiot,” Mat says fondly, but he can’t help but be touched by the offer. “I’ll do that, that would be amazing. Now, go get some sleep.”

“Yes, dad,” Tito rolls his eyes, waving to Mat before turning to walk into the building. Mat waited before Tito was safely inside before turning around and heading back to his own place, cradling the container full of brownies that Tito had insisted he take.

-

“Don’t you ever just go have fun?”

Mat dodges out of the way of the training dummy, deftly punching it in the face to knock it down. Once he’s satisfied, he looks up to see Jordan leaning on the railing, looking down into the training pit.

“What do you mean?” Mat asks, pushing his hair out of his face. He should probably get a haircut before this battle. Should.

Jordan shrugs. “Just seems like you’re only ever here, your apartment, or out saving people. I feel like you’ve been here every day since the big meeting.”

Mat shrugs in return. “Need to be at the top of my game.”

At that, Jordan rolls his eyes and, before Mat can realize what is happening, is standing in front of him.

“Fuck, I hate when you do that,” he mutters, making Jordan smirk.

“We talked about this, kid. You have been so strong at training.”

“Except for the mental parts,” Mat sighs.

“Except for the mental part,” Jordan repeats, nodding. “And part of that means taking time for yourself, away from the superhero shit. What do you do in your free time?”

Mat sweeps his arm around the room. “This.”

“No, like. Outside of this, the gym, anything of the sort.”

“Work on the science shit?”

Jordan rolls his eyes. “Other than the superhero stuff, dumbass. And don’t fucking say watching Marvel movies.”

“Why not?”

“Because you probably take notes watching those.”

And- well. Mat tries to look innocent at that, but he has a feeling Jordan can see right through him. It’s… well, not really notes. It’s just… who can blame him for picking up on things like battle styles and technology notes and… well, okay. Maybe that isn’t the point of the movies after all.

“Oh my God,” Jordan says, his voice full of pity.

At that, Mat can’t help but feel defensive. “It’s not like that.”

“When was the last time you did something you enjoy, something that had nothing to do with your superpowers in any way, shape, or form?”

And… that makes Mat really stop and think. “I could be needed at any minute. I have to- “

Jordan holds up his hand, silencing Mat. “I don’t want excuses, Bubbles. I want the truth.”

Mat maintains eye contact with Jordan briefly, then looks down. “The times with Tito are about it. Otherwise, I just kind of hang in my apartment. It’s… a lot, sometimes. Too much stimulation.”

Jordan’s face softens at that. “Look, I get it. You want to be ready- and that’s good. But you’re already one of the best in combat that we’ve got. What we also need from you is to be a kid. Enjoy life. We all have something in our lives that is an escape… you’ll go mad otherwise.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“What kinds of things do you enjoy?”

It’s been… a while since Mat’s really thought about that. Ever since running away from home at 16, he’s been focused on the superhero side of himself. After a few moments, he finally says, “music and hockey.”

Surprisingly, Jordan lights up at that. “I know what will be good. Go shower and get dressed, I’ll be by your apartment at 7pm sharp.”

Mat blinks, but nods, deciding he can handle a few hours of playing along with Jordan’s probably dumb plan before finishing his workout at home.

It’s how he finds himself in a few hours with a nice buzz going, flipping through a karaoke book, and laughing harder than he has in ages.

He’s just settled into his buzz, feeling good and happy, when he hears a familiar laugh at a nearby table. Mat’s eyes widen, causing Jordan to look suspiciously up at him. “What’s up, Bubbles?”

“That laugh, I know that laugh. I’d know that laugh anywhere.”

Jordan raises his eyebrow even further, with silent question.

Mat looks around in the direction which the laugh was coming from, then immediately sinks into his seat. “Fuck,” he whispers, staring at the table full of young guys.

“Who’s that?” Jordan asks, only for his eyes to light up a few seconds later. “Holy shit, is that your Tito?”

“First of all, he’s not my Tito,” Mat rolls his eyes, “second, shut up or he’ll hear you.”

“So what if he does?” Jordan asks with a laugh.

Mat shrugs, looking a little sheepish. “I don’t know… what if he recognizes my voice or some shit? Like, is that a thing?”

“Dude, if he hasn’t recognized your voice in all the times that you’ve saved him, considering how long you’ve known him, I think you’ll be fine. Looks like his friends are leaving, see if he wants to join us.”

“Because that’s not weird,” Mat mutters under his breath. “Haven’t seen you outside of my costume in four years but hi come join me and my weird superhero friends.”

“Well don’t say it like that, you dumbass,” Jordan snorts, reaching up to ruffle Mat’s hair and rolling his eyes when Mat ducks out of the way.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mat sighs, chugging his drink and standing up. “I’ll be back.”

“Good luck,” Jordan sing-songs, patting Mat on the back and laughing at the grumbling.

Mat turns to walk away, but not without giving Jordan the finger as he walks over to the table where Tito and his friends are packing up. “Anthony?” He says, tapping him on the shoulder.

Tito turns around, a confused look on his face until he recognizes the face in front of him. “Holy shit, Mat!” He exclaims, pulling Mat in for a hug. And that’s… a lot more than Mat was expecting, wow. He hugs back, taking a moment to really enjoy this before they split apart.

“How’s it going?” Mat smiles, soft and fond.

“Good, shit, wow. It’s so good to see you.”

“Tito, man, come on. Don’t want to miss the train,” one of Tito’s friends said, nodding to the exit.

At the torn look on Tito’s face, Mat decides to just take Jordan’s advice. “I’m just over there,” he points to the table, where Jordan and Anders quickly turn away like they weren’t just watching him. Assholes. Idiots. Traitors. “Think we’re going to have another round or two, do you want to join us?”

Tito lights up, then looks over to his friends to see if they’re cool with it. They shrug, telling him to just let them know when he gets home before leaving. Once they’re gone, Tito follows Mat over to the table.

“Hey, guys, this is Tito,” Mat says, motioning to Tito, smiling a bit at the loud greetings he gets. “Tito, these are my friends.” Everyone goes around introducing themselves to Tito, before they all get settled in and start in on a fresh round of drinks and debates over the next karaoke song.

It’s a lot, being with Tito in this capacity. Being, well, Mat and Tito again. It’s entirely different to their interactions when Mat is hiding behind a mask, and yet… not at all different. What it does feel like, though, is that no time has passed since they were just best friends spending time together.

It’s easy to laugh with Tito, and not surprisingly, he fits in well with the group, almost like in some alternate version of themselves, this group has spent too much time together.

Mat does not miss the occasional looks both Jordan and Anders are giving him. He thought Jordan alone was a lot, but apparently when teamed up with Anders? They’re just trouble. Damn Anders and his empath powers.

He’s so lost in his thoughts that he almost misses Tito speaking to him. “What?” He asks, a sheepish look on his face.

Tito just laughs, shaking his head. “You always did tend to space out when it gets a bit loud.” Mat blushes a bit at this, feeling a bit ashamed that Tito has no idea just how true this is, and how it’s got more to do with the sensory overload of his powers than anything else. “Sing with me, though.”

Mat frowns a bit, about to protest, when Jordan nudges him, raising an eyebrow. Mat glowers at Jordan before turning back to Tito. “Fine, but only if it’s Bieber.”

“As if it would be anything else!” Tito cries out, jumping up to go fill in their names for another spot.

“So,” Jordan says, his eyebrow still raised.

“Fuck off,” Mat mutters, shaking his head at Jordan, who just laughs loudly.

“Oh, this was such a fantastic turn of events,” Jordan snickers, clearly forming all kinds of ideas in that weird, twisted mind of his.

Mat sighs, extra dramatic for emphasis. “You know, if I was a lesser man, I’d think that you set this up yourself.”

Both Jordan and Anders burst out laughing at this. “Oh, if I had known him before today, I totally would have.”

“I knew it,” Mat groans.

“Knew what?” Tito asks as he comes back, sliding back into his seat next to Mat.

“That Jordan here is an asshole.”

Tito scrutinizes Jordan, then shrugs. “Don’t know, he seems pretty alright to me. Maybe you should be nicer to him.”

This, of course, makes Jordan high five Tito as well as cackle in laughter, while Mat frowns so hard it makes Tito and Jordan both laugh even louder.

“I’ve also decided I hate you all.”

“Please,” Tito giggles, giving Mat the worst puppy dog eyes he’s ever seen. “You could never ever hate this face. Admit it, you’ve missed me.”

“Not even remotely,” Mat says, sounding as confident and flippant as he can manage, making everyone else around him laugh once again. “You’re all ridiculous,” he sighs, laughing as well.

-

It turns out that for sparring, Bails is both the best and worst partner. Not only is he insanely strong, but his skin is completely impenetrable. Both weapons training and hand-to-hand combat are difficult, but Mat relishes in the challenge. He’s learning how to use his size and stealth to his advantage; while he can’t quite knock Josh down, he’s starting to take the man by surprise enough times that, with just about any other combatant, it would easily be a take down.

“You’ve come a long way, kid,” Josh says, dodging out of the way of one of Mat’s punches, only to grunt when he was struck with a kick.

Mat shrugs, dodging to the side when Josh tries to rush him. “Been doing a lot of practicing.”

“So I’ve been told,” Josh says, easily flipping Mat down onto the mat when Mat falters. “You were already skilled, but now you just might be one of our best fighters. Never would have expected that.”

He stands up, offering Mat his hand. Mat takes it, resisting the temptation to continue the skirmish on another few rounds. It took a lot for both of them to tire, but Mat was also learning the boundaries of his own body and could tell that it was starting to get to the point where it would be too much the next day if he continued on. “Why’s that?”

Josh shrugs, brushing himself off and taking a long swig of his water bottle. “Never seemed like a fighter. But you’ve learned to use your strengths, and I’m very impressed.”

Mat flushes at the unexpected praise. “Been working really hard lately to prepare. Figured… I should have some kind of use to the team.”

Josh rolls his eyes and pats Mat on the head. “You’d have more use than you realized even without this.”

Mat gives Josh a scathing look, not buying it at all. “We still haven’t sorted out the best ways to use my powers. How would that make me a use to you guys?”

“You’ve got the most heart and drive out of all of us. I get the idea that even if for whatever reason, the rest of us weren’t really feeling it, you’d be carrying us and pushing us to be better. Besides, I’ve got an idea of how to use your powers that aren’t all that different from what you already do but is more efficient.”

Mat flushes at the compliment from his team leader, then raises his eyebrow in intrigue. “What do you mean?” he asks.

“Well let’s just say your opponent probably wouldn’t be expecting a burst of bubbles in the middle of hand to hand combat. Rather than use them from afar like you tend to do, let’s try it instead of throwing a punch.”

Mat frowns a bit as he sips his water. Why hadn’t he really thought about that? He’d been so focused on the fighting part of this… that he forgot to actually take advantage of his own abilities. “Okay, let’s do it.”

They start out sparring much the same as they had before, with Josh sending him some pointers as they go along. Then, just as Josh is clearly expecting a punch, Mat flicks his fingers and sends a wave of small bubbles into Josh’s face, all of them exploding at once and catching him off guard.

“YES!” Josh yells once he’s recovered. “Exactly like that! That’s perfect, kid.”

Mat settles back to catch his breath, unable to hide the pride and gratitude on his face at the excitement Josh is showing over his bubbles. Turns out… maybe he’ll have a use after all.

-

Mat is not a fan of this new development.

The “new development” being the puppy that is currently running around Tito’s feet chasing the bubble Mat had left Tito.

“So, let me get this straight,” Tito says, looking up to where Mat is sitting on a large bubble, perfectly out of reach of the dog. “You’re literally a superhero, right?” Mat nods. “Like, you’ve taken on dangerous criminals and shit.” Again, Mat nods, wondering where the hell Tito is going with this. “But you’re afraid of this little guy.” He bends down, petting the puppy.

As much as Mat wants to deny it… he’s purposely hovering in the air, something he’s never really done before. So he just kind of… shrugs. He’s waiting for Tito to laugh, just like everyone else seems to when they find out about his fear. (Jordan had given him shit for days, until he witnessed firsthand the sheer panic on Mat’s face.)

“I wouldn’t have brought her if I’d known,” Tito says instead, shocking Mat.

“She’s your dog, why wouldn’t you bring her to the park?”

Tito just shrugs, smiling sheepishly at Mat, who just shrugs it off.

“I’m sure she’s lovely,” Mat says, suddenly feeling like it was important not to insult Tito or his dog. “I’d just like to… keep my distance.”

“No problem,” Tito shrugs, changing the subject.

As they continue to talk, Tito throws the bubble for his puppy, as if it were just an ordinary tennis ball and not one of Mat’s bubbles. It’s kind of a lot for Mat, watching it out of the corner of his eye, and not just because of the dog.

He’s grown attached. Not only does he save Tito quite a lot, but they’ve been spending a lot more time together outside of the whole, well, saving thing. Sometimes Tito will grab him a coffee after; sometimes they just sit together and talk like this, if it’s before he’s officially out paroling.

It’s dangerous, Mat knows, but he’s starting to find that he doesn’t really care.

-

“Back up,” Jordan says later that same evening after they’d done a patrol together, staring at Mat, who frowns. He hadn’t even gotten to the main part of the story yet! He nods, though, pausing to see what Jordan wanted. “Did you say his puppy was playing with a bubble you’d given him?”

Mat nods, frowning a little. “So what?”

“First of all, what the fuck. Second of all, you god damned idiot.” Jordan holds up his hand when Mat starts to protest, pushing on. “Since when can you make like… permanent bubbles?”

Mat shrugs. “I really don’t. There’s not much use for them. He just… likes playing with them, and always popped them, sooo….”

“So, okay. He conveniently always needs your help. He likes your bubbles. You… literally develop a way to make them stronger, without telling anyone, just so he can have one. He not only keeps it but brings it to the park with his puppy.” Mat nods, slowly. “I thought you were terrified of dogs.”

“I am,” Mat says softly. “I sat on a bubble above them. He, uh… said he wouldn’t have brought the dog if he’d known.”

“Holy shit,” Jordan says, bursting out into loud laughter.

“What?!” Mat squeaks out, looking at Jordan with wide eyes.

“Mathew Barzal, you fucking idiot. You’ve got a fucking boyfriend.”

“What?! No, you’re ridiculous.”

“Think about it,” Jordan says.

Mat frowns, thinking back on what happened that morning… and everything else that’s happened recently. “You think so?”

Jordan nods. “Sure seems like it, kid.”

“What the fuck. How does that… work. He has no idea who I am, or really even what I look like. Isn’t it the other way around usually? Secret identity hidden?”

“I mean, yeah,” Jordan laughs. “Those who keep their alter ego from their partners and family. Most of us don’t bother, though. It’s worked in varying degrees for everyone, in terms of like… how the public reacts, you know?”

Mat nods. “Sort of like _Civil War_?”

“You’ve really got to stop confusing reality with movies, kid. But I guess, yes, in a way. After what happened in Edmonton, we got a mixed reaction. Before the Incident, we were heroes in all sense of the word. People loved us. After….” he trails off, shaking his head with a soft sigh. “It was hell.”

Mat tries not to stare in shock at Jordan, because this was the first time that Jordan had ever really brought up the Edmonton stuff so candidly. Instead, he tries to focus on what Jordan said. “Aren’t you worried about something like that happening again?”

There is no hesitation whatsoever before Jordan’s reply. “Absolutely,” he says. “I don’t want to go through that again, and I don’t want to put the guys- especially you young ones- through something like that. I watched it destroy the lives of innocent humans, as well as the lives of my very best friends.”

“But you keep going?”

Jordan nods. “I have to. I have to help, I have to guide others. I have to sort out what went wrong there, and how to avoid that here. I’ve become fond of this city, and I want to protect it. Everything else is worth it.”

“Everything else?”

Jordan shrugs at that. “Occasional nightmares, for instance. They hadn’t been bad for a year or two, but once this threat popped up, they started coming back. I may have PTSD from it. I know that Linus and Maggie suffer the worst of us from it, but it still creeps up on me. So all those mental blocks you have, for whatever happened in your life, it’s not unusual. But going into something like this… we have to put our fears aside and trust in ourselves and each other. At the end of the day, we’re all that we really have.”

“I know you guys have my back,” Mat says. “I just hope that I can repay that.”

“Just remember, you’re more important than you know,” Jordan smiles fondly, and Mat nods in response. “You know what else is more important than you know?” Mat raises an eyebrow at that. “Your love life. Tell me more. Have actual you and Tito spent time together since that day at the bar?”

Mat rolls his eyes at the change in topic, but shrugs. “Not really. We text, like, all the time, but he’s too busy with the superhero to want to spend time with me.”

Jordan snorts and shakes his head. “You do realize you’re getting jealous of yourself, right? Like, Tito’s superhero is also you?”

At that, Mat blushes a bit and shrugs. “Yeah, but like… he never really flirts with _me_ , you know? So what if he only likes that part of me, the hero part, and he’d be disappointed to know who that really is?”

“Then you deal with it,” Jordan shrugs. “The fact that he likes that part of you just from conversations you’ve had is a pretty big deal though, yeah? He doesn’t even know what you look like or anything and still likes you.”

Mat shrugs. “Easy when I’m a hero saving him. It’s like… in _Homecoming_ , yeah? When the girls are talking about having a crush on Spider-Man and the one is all oh but what if he’s old and ugly? But that it also doesn’t matter because he’s a hero and might know Captain America?”

“But his personality is still there. Spidey hides who his identity is, but he’s still the same goofy kid with a good heart. That’s how you are, Mat. And that’s why Tito likes you, not because he’s got some obsession with heroes.”

“So, do you think I should like… tell him?” Mat asks hesitantly.

Jordan nods. “Why are you hiding, anyway?”

Mat shrugs again. “To protect the people I love.”

“Is that why you ran away?”

“Might be,” Mat sighs.

“You’ve never told me why you did that. You’ve never told any of us, have you?” Jordan asks, a concerned look on his face.

“I’ve never told anyone,” Mat admits, looking down at his feet. No one knew why he’d run; shit, few people even knew his real name. It was just another level of protecting his family. It was another level of protecting _himself_ , and something that he could keep to himself and that was uniquely his.

“What could you have possibly done that revealing your identity would put your family at risk, especially when you already ran away from them and hid at least a couple times since?”

“It’s not really what I did.”

Jordan raises an eyebrow, clearly very curious for more information. Mat sighs. He knows that he trusts Jordan literally with his life; the man has quite literally taken him under his wing. He deserves the truth. But just like Jordan struggles with talking about Edmonton, it’s hard for Mat to talk about all that happened before he left Vancouver and began living on the run.

“It’s complicated,” Mat sighs again, looking down at his hands.

“Aren’t most things?” Jordan asks, making Mat let out a soft, surprised, laugh.

“I guess.”

Jordan reaches over, taking Mat’s hand in his and giving it a comforting squeeze. Mat stares at their hands, feeling an overwhelming sense of protection and love in the gesture. It’s almost like, for the first time since he was 16, he’s got a family. “You can tell me whenever you’re ready,” Jordan says after a moment, and Mat nods at that. He leans into Jordan, feeling overcome with emotions that he can’t even put into words.

He’ll tell Jordan someday. Maybe if they make it out of this upcoming war unscathed.

For now, though, he finds that he just need to… bask in the comfort he can feel radiating from his teammate.

-

Mat’s senses have never gone off like this before. He’s got goosebumps all over his arms, and he is hit with such a strong sense of anxiety he feels like he can’t breathe. His fingers and legs are practically twitching with the need to _go go go_ , but he can’t move. He’s suddenly terrified. All he can do in the moment is sit on the floor, hunched over with his head between his legs and taking shallow, gasping, breaths. If he can’t at least get his breathing back to normal, he’s no good to the team.

The team.

Mat is suddenly wracked with guilt, too, knowing how much they need him and he’s not there.

No, it’s okay.

He reminds himself that sometimes this happens a bit before something really… well, happens. It’s more… premonition than real time.

Seconds pass, and thoughts of the team help him calm down enough that he can change partially into his suit and be out the door, cursing that he wasn’t born with the ability to, like, fly or run really fast. Instead, he’s stuck on the LIRR, coat and hat hiding as much as he can.

His phone goes off when he’s about halfway to where he needs to be. He quickly responds to the group text, letting them know he’s nearly there.

It isn’t until he’s tossing his coat into a bag and pulling on the rest of his suit, running towards the rest of the team, that the nerves really set in. It’s a new kind of nerves. It’s the realization that he’s about to go in and fight a legitimate villain, one with powers of their own, not just some criminal in an alley. It’s the realization that today, Mat is not rescuing lost cats, but is risking his life for the people of this city… with bubbles.

What the fuck is he going to be able to do with _bubbles_?

Mat skids to a stop, eyes wide behind his mask, shaking with a combination of terror and nerves.

Almost immediately, Anders is there, Jordan right behind him.

“You’re okay, kid,” Anders says, firm but gentle.

“Remember everything we went over,” Jordan reminds Mat, in the same tone of voice.

Mat closes his eyes for a moment, focusing his mind on the training he’d done with the team and letting Anders send him calming waves.

“Let’s do this,” he says, straightening up, smiling to himself when he catches the briefest of smiles on Jordan’s face.

The three of them join the rest of the team, ready to save Earth.

-

Mat closes his eyes when he feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his body shuddering as he’s overcome with a sense of danger. He concentrates until he can get some general idea of the location, sighing loudly when he realizes exactly where it is.

Right near Tito’s building.

Tito, who has been pulling his usual ‘try and get the attention of the superhero, leave the real person on read for hours’ deal.

Mat frowns, rubbing at his ankle.

He’ll check it out, but he’s not really sure if he’s feeling getting involved. In fact, he probably shouldn’t get involved… maybe creating some distance between them would be a smart idea. Sure, Jordan had been certain that Tito was basically his boyfriend, but did that really count in a situation like this?

He closes his eyes again, but this time it has nothing to do with his powers. Instead, it’s his thoughts spiraling out of control. He swallows, thinking about the techniques that Anders had given him.

 _Breathe_ , he tells himself, trying to clear his mind.

 _Breathe,_ he repeats, hoping to take an edge off the spiking anxiety.

He’s finally able to get himself under control and is just standing up when his phone goes off.

 _got a situation here_ , the text from an unknown number reads, but the number looks familiar. Mat grabs his personal phone, comparing the two numbers.

Right, he’d given Tito this number as a just in case. When another text follows, this time with just the SOS and fire emojis, Mat decides that he must act, despite his original intentions to rest and let his body heal.

Mat runs through the streets, dodging around people, until he gets to Tito’s building. Huh, it doesn’t look like there’s a fire going on. He frowns, looking around. In fact, no one seems to be in a panic of any sorts.

As he’s circling the building, his phone buzzes again.

_look up_

So Mat does.

There, on the fire escape, sits Tito, waving down at him. “I’m stuck,” he calls down, a sheepish smile on his face.

“You do know that it goes down, right?” Mat laughs, jumping up to grab the end of the staircase and pull it down so he can walk up.

“Of course I do,” Tito rolls his eyes, then points down to his foot, which is… somehow stuck between the bars on the side.

Mat looks up and down between Tito’s foot and face a few times before just shaking his head slowly. “Seriously?”

Tito shrugs, looking sheepish again. “I don’t really know either. It’s a nice night, I wanted to sit out here, stretch my legs out… then when I went to get up,” he trails off, pointing to his foot.

“You’re ridiculous,” Mat mutters, crouching down to look at it, half wondering if Tito didn’t do this on purpose, knowing full well he’d get stuck.

Mat’s so focused on working his bubbles between the iron bars and Tito’s foot that he almost doesn’t register that Tito is talking to him. “Hmm?” He asks, looking back up at Tito.

“I, uh, wanted to make sure you were okay,” Tito repeats, blushing. “I heard there was some kind of stand-off with powered people, didn’t know if you were involved?”

That is… a lot, and Mat’s a bit surprised to hear that Tito was worried. “So you got your foot stuck in a railing instead of just texting me?”

“Much more efficient way to capture your attention,” Tito shrugs, grinning up at Mat.

Mat laughs, rolling his eyes. “I’m okay. Sore, ankle’s a bit tender, but otherwise okay. We were able to apprehend that bunch without too much of a fight because we took them by surprise. Wasn’t the end, we don’t think, but we took out some important people and weapons.”

Tito frowns, looking at Mat’s ankle. “Come in, rest it and put some ice on it. You should have taken the night off if you’re hurt.”

“Couldn’t,” Mat teases, “you said S.O.S. and everything.” He concentrates for a moment more to let loose another small stream of bubbles, nodding to himself in satisfaction. “Okay, pull.”

Tito pulls his leg, the bubbles working just enough that he is able to free his foot. He cheers, jumping up, a big grin on his face as he sing-songs, “My hero!”

Mat rolls his eyes at Tito as he stands up, laughing softly. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You love it,” Tito shrugs, turning around to the open window of his apartment. “Now, are you coming in or not? I’ve got pork in the slow cooker and I won’t be able to eat it all.”

It’s tempting. It’s _so_ tempting, because they haven’t really hung out since the day with the dog in the park. But there’s the whole… dog thing. And mask thing. And, if Mat’s being honest, he’s not sure if it’s crossing some kind of line to go into Tito’s home.

“Would you stop overthinking?” Tito sticks his head out the window he’s just climbed through. He rolls his eyes at Mat. “I want to feed you, so get in here. You don’t have to worry about Blossom, either. She’s with my parents for the weekend. They just lost their dog, so she’s playing comfort puppy.”

“Your dog’s name is Blossom?” Mat raises an eyebrow, putting aside his worries to follow Tito into the small apartment.

“Well, sure. I’ve got a Bubbles in my life already,” he motions to Mat, “so now I’ve got a Blossom. I just need a Buttercup to complete the set.”

Mat just stares at Tito for a few minutes before bursting out in laughter and flicking a stream of bubbles into his face as retaliation. Tito just laughs loudly, his whole face lighting up, as he continues to walk into the kitchen and, Mat presumes, check on the food.

Which, if he’s being honest, does smell good. Now that he’s smelled it, he really can’t leave. It wouldn’t be fair to his stomach.

“Just about done,” Tito says as he comes out of the kitchen, two beers and an ice pack in hand. He offers one of the beers and the cold pack to Mat, “since he’s off duty for the night”, and then sits down on the ratty old couch.

Mat takes the beer and settles down next to Tito, feeling awkward as he looks around the apartment, mostly because of the mask. Still, he remains silent as he lifts his leg onto the coffee table, placing the ice pack over his tender ankle, not really knowing what else to say.

“You can take that off, you know,” Tito raises an eyebrow, pointing to Mat’s mask, as if sensing Mat’s dilemma… or perhaps just issuing him a challenge.

Mat frowns, considering. He knows that he really should; he can hear Jordan’s voice in the back of his mind asking what is the worst that could happen. Especially if they are, well, dating? ish? At the same time, though, few people- and no one outside of the team- know his real identity. It’s a lot to think about. He’s abruptly brought from his thoughts when Tito speaks again, his voice softer and almost… gentle?

“Come on, Mat.”

Mat sits up, back straight as a rod and his eyes wide behind his mask. Tito… knew? Who he was? His heart starts racing, breathing speeding up. How many other people know? He can feel the panic like darkness edging in around his consciousness.

Tito’s eyes widen, and he reaches to place his hand on Mat’s knee. “Nobody else knows. I didn’t know at first, either.”

Mat focuses his attention on Tito’s hand, drawing upon that source of comfort to sort of ground him, using techniques he’d learned from Anders. Once he has his breathing under control, though perhaps not his heart as much as he’d like, he looks back up at Tito. “How’d you figure it out? How long have you known?”

Tito shrugs a little. “The first time you helped me, I sensed something familiar about you, but I couldn’t really place where I knew it from. As we spent more time together, too, I realized who I thought you reminded me of: my best friend from back home.” Mat softens at that, a fond smile on his face. “So, like, I had my suspicions and had been trying to work it out each time. But then you invited me to karaoke with Jordan _freaking_ Eberle, and some other heroes I’d seen on the news, and that’s how I knew. There is no way you’d suddenly turn up in New York City, surrounded by superheroes, if you and the hero that saved me weren’t the same person.”

“I don’t know, I’m totally likeable, I could see superheroes wanting to hang out with me,” Mat shrugs, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Tito doesn’t even bother justifying that with a response, which only makes Mat grin more. Instead, he sets his beer down and scoots closer to Mat. The grin falls from Mat’s face some when Tito reaches up, grabbing the edge of Mat’s mask. They both stare into each other’s eyes for a few seconds that seem to last a lifetime before Mat gives a little nod. Tito pulls the mask off, tossing it across the room triumphantly.

“Hey, I need that,” Mat laughs, looking over to where his mask landed, draped across a pile of dog toys.

“Shut up.” Tito grabs Mat’s cheeks, staring at him again before leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Oh,” Mat breathes out, eyes wide.

Immediately, Tito sits back, and Mat sees a panicked look in his eyes. “I’m… sorry, did I like… read this wrong?” Tito stutters out.

Mat shakes his head immediately, shifting closer to Tito this time. “No, no. I was just surprised. I’ve been torn about whether you just wanted the superhero, or whether you actually wanted me. Now that I know that you knew who I am...” he trails off, smiling soft and reaching up to caress Tito’s cheek. He watches as the storm fades from Tito’s eyes and is replaced by a little spark of mischief.

“You’re such a fucking idiot, Barzy,” Tito grins.

Wow, it’s been awhile since he’s heard _that_ name.

It’s his turn to tell Tito to shut up, though, and he does just that before leaning in to kiss Tito.

All good-natured bickering is quickly forgotten between them as they kiss. The world seems to stop for Mat, and he lets out a little content sigh as Tito deepens the kiss just slightly.

Kissing Tito is like being in another dimension, one where he doesn’t have to worry about any looming threat of criminals and aliens. It’s warm, it’s comforting; it’s like the extra-fluffy blanket that Mat pulls out of his closet when his senses get particularly overwhelming and he needs the extra softness.

Knowing Tito is his is also totally better than any victory he’s ever had.

He’s drawn out of his reverie when he hears Tito giggling into the kiss. Mat opens his eyes to see what Tito is laughing at, only to realize there’s a ring of bubbles surrounding Tito’s face.

“Oh my god,” Mat whispers, slightly mortified and slightly amused.

“Guess you liked it,” Tito giggles, reaching up to pop at one of the larger bubbles.

“I totally meant to do that,” Mat says, trying to sound confident, but the two of them just dissolve into laughter, giggling so hard Mat has to wipe tears from his eyes.

“Mmmhmm,” Tito finally mutters, leaning in to kiss Mat again once the majority of their giggles have subsided. Mat rolls his eyes, but kisses Tito back, letting out a happy little sigh once again.

It doesn’t take much for them to get lost in their own world, everything seeming to stop around them as they just continue to kiss. Right as the intensity begins to pick up, there’s a shrill beeping coming from the kitchen.

They jump apart quickly, staring at each other with wide eyes until Tito starts to laugh a little. “That’ll be the pork,” he says, hesitating for a just a moment before getting up to go check on the food.

After he’s gone, Mat leans back in the sofa, closing his eyes, an incredulous look on his face. He really can’t believe that this was happening. That smile grows when he can hear Tito singing to himself in the kitchen.

And to think, he almost didn’t even bother coming.


End file.
